Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Head Butt entry p. 15 mentions a bar and there is Is the cathedral the same as the bishops palace (p. 60)?
a reference to firearms in the Shoggoths entry! They are different; replace the parentheses by commas.
Read respectively: tavern and missile weapons.
What are the eight disciplines (p. 78)?
What is a targeted spell (p. 19)? A typo. Magic is known as the eighth discipline or art.
Targeted spells match caster and target magic points and
on the Resistance Table to learn whether they succeed (see If the Old Grimoire is non-Mythos, where can I find the
p. 80). Targeted spells cost less skill points because their Mythos spells listed under Mythos books?
success rate is less than that of automatic spells. There is a bit of a mix-up between Call of Cthulhu
material and the Old Grimoire, which is non-Mythos only
Are occupation money entries and incomes consistent? in that it does not explicitly address Mythos creatures and
Some variability is acceptable, but there are outliers: the deities. Firstly, change the opening sentence of Learning
craftsman/shopkeepers money is too high with respect to Spells (p. 78) as follows: Learning a Mythos spell
his income rank and the scholars is too low. I suggest Similarly in casting Spells (p. 79): Manipulating the
attributing 1D3 * 100 deniers to the scholar, and 1D2 * forces of the Mythos and of the Occult Below: Having
100 deniers + 100 in product to the craftsman/shopkeeper. the Mythos entity gnaw away The following additional
paragraph may help:
What is the base % of Climb and Library Use?
Trust the skills definitions but not the investigator sheet. Keepers can easily compile a Mythos Grimoire using Old
You can use the vintage sheet at: http://ad1000.cjb.net. Grimoire spells such as Contact, Compel, and Dismiss.
The only Call of Cthulhu Mythos spell currently missing
Why do horses never belong to the driver (p. 24)? in Cthulhu Dark Ages is Contact Deity.
Ambiguous assertion. Disregard it.
Call of Cthulhu Cthulhu Dark Ages
In skills p.25, a Listen vs. Sneak match is resolved on the Call/Dismiss Deity Contact Creature/Dismiss Spirit
Resistance Table and by lowest-result-wins. Which is it? Contact Contact Creature
I would go by the more orthodox Resistance Table match. Contact Deity Pray to Deity (new spell)
Summon/Bind Contact/Compel Creature
The Throw skill (p. 28) has a rule to determine the range
of thrown weapons. Does it contradict Weapon Tables? Can spells change the POW characteristic or not (p. 80)?
This is a mix-up. Call of Cthulhu relies on the Throw skill Yes, see for instance Bless/Curse (Characteristic).
for the base chance and range of thrown weapons. Not so
in Cthulhu Dark Ages: each thrown weapon is represented Why is the range of spells that rely on vocalization sight?
by a skill; trust the missile table (p. 45), and disregard the Please revert to earshot for: Bless/Curse, Compel,
reference to knives, daggers, and javelins in the skill entry. Dismiss, Enthral, Exaltation, Fear, and Soul Singing.
Earshot spells can be cast within about 100 feet and the
Is Syriac the same as Greek (Write Language, p. 28)? target of the spell must be able to hear the caster.
No. The confusion comes from the original write-up,
which listed Syriac or Greek, meaning that both were Does Curse Characteristic (p. 85) cost MPs or POW?
used, not that the languages were the same. See also 1D3 MP if failing to overcome the target.
languages written in the glossary p. 67. In passing, add
Gaelic to written languages pp. 28 and 67. Is the duration of Curse Skill Class (p. 85) one day?
No, 1D6 combat rounds.
Is the upper diagonal of the Resistance Table reliable?
No. It should read 95% all along and not 85%. Why does Demon Sight cost 3 MP?
Align Demon Sight with Demon Hearing and Bless Skill
What is a POT roll (p. 37)? (2 MP per 1D6 duration and 5% increase to Spot Hidden).
It is a typo: requiring successful Potions rolls to
What is Temporary Sanity relief in Exaltation?
Hospitals are mentioned pp. 16, 26, and 39. Hospitals? A typo. Replace by Temporary Insanity relief.
Page 98 states that creature abilities work like spells: Theology (01%): the science of ultimate cause, often
does a werewolf lose 1 POW every time it changes form? assimilated to wisdom. Theology also covers the
Oversight. Assume that werewolves, as well as vampires knowledge of holy and apocryphal scriptures, ceremony
and goblins, use a temporary variant of Body Warp. The lore, and dogma. Local heresies and folklore may be
cost of it is 12 magic points (no POW loss), and typical understood at half chance. The Theology and the Occult
duration is one night, after which the target changes back. skills are complementary to some extent.
The Bestiary lists spells that I cannot find anywhere! Potions (01%)
Some spells were renamed in the Old Grimoire but not in Here is a suggested outline for using the Potions skill:
the Bestiary. The Gate spell known to Goblins is now
called Create Mystic Portal. The Mist (of Releh) spell 1. Find the ingredients: allow one Natural World skill
said to resemble the Nameless Mist is renamed Deaths roll per day to find the required ingredients. Adjust
Breath. The Old Ones and Liliths Steal Life is Curse upwards or downwards at the keepers discretion, in
POW (causes aging and decay). accordance with availability.
2. Prepare the potion/ointment: requires one successful
Skills addendum Potions roll for a POT 10 dose or fraction thereof.
Preparing an herbal potion or poison takes 1D3 days.
Sciences Preparing animal venom takes 1 day, and preparing an
I limit the scope to the Occidental system of knowledge, infectious agent takes up to 2 weeks. At the Keepers
known as the seven liberal arts. They are called liberal discretion, a failed roll produces an ineffective potion
because they were originally intended for the free man or ointment, and a fumbled roll creates a mixture with
who had the luxury to seek pure knowledge, as opposed to unintended or even opposite results - or the maker
applied sciences that serve some trade or industry. In the accidentally ingests the potion!
middle ages, the distinction between sacred and temporal 3. Ingest/apply the potion/ointment: a potion takes one
knowledge blurred. For gaming purposes, the seven liberal combat round to drink; applying an ointment to a
arts are split into two skills: the Quadrivium (physical weapon or to an unarmored person takes one minute.
sciences) and the Trivium (language sciences). For
completeness, I also list medicine, law, and theology. Parameters like reaction times and potency (POT) vary
greatly and are therefore left at the Keepers discretion.
Trivium (01%): formally grammar, rhetoric, and However, there are general principles to be adhered to:
dialectic. The Trivium covers the theory of language,
knowledge of literature, and logic. In terms of skills, the POT is proportional to the dose. Remember that most
student learns eloquence and practical logic, both useful to poisons taste (very) bad.
achieve success in political spheres. To resolve a heated Do not allow POT ratings higher than 10 per
debate or difficult negotiations, the Keeper can request a successful Potions roll. POT 10 is the toxicity of a
Trivium skill roll instead of Persuade, Idea, or even Status. salad of fresh hemlock leaves, which contains little
A successful Trivium roll may be required in order to more than a few drops of the toxic agent coniine.
identify a particular classical writer or one of his books, Only fresh ingredients have full potency. Prepared
before an effective Library Search. In effect, the Trivium ingredients typically have half potency.
starts where Read/Write Language and Persuade stop.
Quadrivium (01%): formally arithmetic, music, Potions and ointments have a wide range of uses.
geometry, and astronomy. The common denominator of Successful potions typically affect one characteristic, one
the Quadrivium is mathematics, which covers the theory of skill class, or perceptions. Here are popular examples of
numbers, shapes, movement, and sounds. In terms of potions that the keeper - and players - can elaborate upon:
skills, the student can perform advanced calculations
(divisions, fractions, areas, etc.), knows the position of Increase/decrease all skills of one skill class by 5%.
stars and planets, and by extension is familiar with Emotional aberrations: aggression, fear, euphoria,
geography and architecture. The physicist can design hallucinations, increased libido, pain, and somnolence.
musical instruments and ingenious war machines. In Impairment of one sense.
effect, the Quadrivium skill starts where Accounting and Poison/infectious agent: as per rulebook.
Repair/Devise stop. Poison antidote: requires an extra Medicine or Potions
Medicine (01%): as per Cthulhu Dark Ages rulebook. The roll in order to first identify the poison. Proceed with
keeper can request a successful Medicine roll as a ingredient finding and preparation as usual. In the end,
precondition to brewing a specialized healing potion or an subtract the antidotes POT from that of the poison.
antidote. Antiseptic to clean wounds and fight off infections.
Law (01%): the knowledge of canonical law, civil law Symptom relief against pain, fever, fatigue, etc.
codes, procedures, and by extension, of local customs. In
combination with a high Status, the practice of Law can Potions can be used as First Aid skill in cases of poisoning
lead to great rewards. The skilled jurist has the ability to (restores 1D3 HP on the spot). In itself, it does not grant
understand and edict charters, contracts, administrative the ability to diagnose diseases.
capitularies, and diplomas. In another country, halve the
chance for success with this skill.
Natural Disasters & Occult Events Sanity loss statistics. Other prices to pay like sacrifices and
expiatory exercises are at the keepers discretion.
Here are a few additional milestones worth mentioning: There is no guarantee that a deity read the Keeper -
before 1000 introduction of the camshaft in medieval would rather grant the object of the prayer than trick or
industry. even harm the caster (e.g. insanity, death, or worse),
ca. 935-975 Roswitha of Gandersheim writes six plays, especially if the caster were to offend the deity through
which make her one of the first Occidental playwrights. arrogance, pretence, or profanation.
975-976 Great famine in England. The Keeper should prepare the effects of prayer with great
976 First usage of Arabic numerals in Occidental books. care, the guiding adage being: the ways of the deities are
986 Great pestilence among English cattle. impenetrable. Always prefer subtle natural causes that
987-996 First French beer-mill. contribute to the desired effect (e.g. tweak the outcome of
989 Terrifying star (Halleys comet) brightens the night die rolls or have a NPC alter the course of action), instead
sky for three months. Many Occidental cities, incl. Rome, of overt supernatural intervention (e.g. lightning bolts). If
are devastated by fire. Heresies outburst in Sardinia. the prayer object is spiritual, e.g. some information or the
996 First record of sugar cane import into the Occident deitys wishes, bestow it by means of an unwary
(Venice). messenger, a scary vision or a disturbing dream.
1000 Chinese perfect gunpowder formula for fireworks. Pray is the Dark Age variant of Call of Cthulhus Contact
1010 First human to fly: Brother Elmer jumps off the Deity spell type. This spell is likely to be the first and only
tower of Malmesbury Abbey and with the aid of wings, spell available to zealous priests and cultists of a deity.
flies 125 paces before breaking his legs. Brother Elmer
also foretells the Norman invasion.
1008 First known novel: the Tale of Gengi, Japan.
Classic Mythos deities
1014 A great sea-flood comes to England. It drowns The following deity entries paraphrase to a large extent the
settlements and countless people. corresponding entries in Call of Cthulhu. However,
1040 Hemp-mill reported. Cthulhu Dark Ages stresses the invulnerability of these
1041 Bad weather and various diseases destroy English deities by avoiding listing physical characteristics such as
crops and cattle. hit points and weapon damage. As far as human opponents
1041 Chinese alchemist devises a movable-type print. are concerned, the deities are infinitely powerful. They
ca. 1050 Articulated flails. cannot be destroyed; at best, deities can be temporarily
dispelled or sealed away by great sorcery.
Classic Spells
CTHULHU, Great Old One. A monster of vaguely
anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose
ENCHANT face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body,
prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow
Range: touch Duration: permanent wings behind. This thing was of a somewhat bloated
Cost: 1 POW corpulence It lumbered slobberingly into sight and
Sanity: 1D4 Resistance Table: yes gropingly squeezed its gelatinous green immensity through
Enchants a device or artefact with one spell known to the the black doorway The Call of Cthulhu, Lovecraft.
caster. The target is then considered magical. Each Who can open the doors of its face? There is terror all
Enchant involves a blood sacrifice and at least a day of around its teeth. Its back is made of shields in rows, shut
preparation. up closely as with a seal. One is so near to each other that
Usage of a magical artefact conforms to standard spell no air can come between them... When it raises itself up
casting procedures and conditions. In particular, the the gods are afraid. - Job 41:14.
wielder of the item must spend magic points or POW, and Cthulhu - or Leviathan as he is known in the Scriptures
Sanity in order to activate the spell. is one of the giants who fell from the sky when primal
chaos still reigned on earth. If we are to believe the
PRAY TO (DEITY) Revelation, something vanquished him and cast him in the
tomb city of Rlyeh, deep beneath the surface of the ocean.
Range: indefinite Duration: until granted
There he lies in wait, neither living nor dead. When the
Cost: at the Keepers discretion stars are right, the city will rise and he will wake, freed to
Sanity: as per deity San loss Resistance Table: no walk the world until everything has been consumed.
Appeals a specific deity (e.g. as identified by its True Great Cthulhus body form is not fixed. He can warp and
Name). The term deity is shorthand for a disembodied modify at will, extending new limbs, reducing his bodys
spirit with POW 10 or higher. The object of a prayer can size to enable flight, or elongating a single limb or tentacle
be temporal (e.g. worldly goods or godly intervention) or to enable to writhe through yards of corridor.
spiritual (e.g. the answer to a question). The deity may not Entire tribes are recorded as worshipping Cthulhu, such as
grant the object for an hour or a day or more (if ever) - the degenerate Inuit of Greenland. He seems to be worshipped
caster does not know when, and must continue praying. among sea-folks, or beings that live near the sea. The deep
Whether the object of the prayer is granted or not (at the ones as well as the Cthulhi (star-spawn of Cthulhu) serve
keepers discretion), the caster who seeks union with the him. Though in millennial sleep, Cthulhu is known to send
deity is always subjected to a Sanity roll as per the deitys horrifying dreams to mortal men, which may have tipped
some people into madness.
ATTACKS & SPECIAL EFFECTS: each round, Great Weapon: any weapon 100%, damage as per weapon.
Cthulhu can kill up to 4 investigators within reach of his Armor: none.
claws or facial tentacles. Resistance is useless. Great Spells: knows all spells; he can summon wild beasts and
Cthulhu is effectively invulnerable, being able to fully monsters at the rate of 1 magic point per POW point the
reform within 15 minutes of having been destroyed! creature has; he may summon a Dark One or a servitor of
GREAT CTHULHU, Leviathan the Outer Gods at the cost of a single magic point.
The physical characteristics of Cthulhu are too vast to be Sanity loss: no loss to see the Dark Man. In many of his
meaningful. other 999 Masks, 1D10/1D100 to see Nyarlathotep.
INT 40 POW 42 Move 24 stride/20 swim/16 fly
Other names: The (Coiled) Serpent, Kutulu, Kthulhut, YOG-SOTHOTH, Outer God. This time it was a
Tulu, Thu Thu, Lotan, Yamm, Tiamat (Chaldean chaos- force of personality which at once confronted and
dragon), Kul (Syrian water spirit). surrounded and pervaded him, and which in addition to its
Weapon: claws or tentacles 100%, damage hideous death. local presence, seemed also to be a part of himself, and
Armor: rubbery scales so tight that nothing can come likewise to be co-existent with all time and coterminous
between them. Additionally, he regenerates any damage with al space. There was no visual image It was an All-
within 15 minutes at most. in-One and One-in-All of limitless being and self
Spells: knows hundreds of spells but not summoning Through the Gates of the Silver Key, Lovecraft.
spells related to Yog-Sothoth, his avatar, and his servants. Yog-Sothoth dwells in the infinite-dimensional Void
Sanity loss: 1D10/1D100 Sanity points to see Cthulhu. between the Spheres that compose the universe. Yog-
Sothoth is intimately linked to the Nameless Mist. Yog-
NYARLATHOTEP, Outer God. Who he was, none Sothoths dark energy is invisible, yet everywhere present,
could tell, but he was of the old native blood and looked maybe less than a millimeter away, tugging at the
like a Pharaoh Into the lands of civilization came threshold. Yog-Sothoth can only break into our world at
Nyarlathotep, swarthy, slender, and sinister And where certain times (e.g. August 1st). When this happens, he
Nyarlathotep went, rest vanished, for the small hours were appears as a congeries of radiant globes that expand at a
rent with the screams of nightmare Nyarlathotep, prodigious rate through the air and burn all life in a flash.
Lovecraft. Because of this, Yog-Sothoth is not knowable to most
Loki is handsome and good-looking, of bad spirit and mortals, except indirectly through his intersection with our
very unstable in his ways. - Snorri Sturluson, four (according to some, eleven) dimensions, which are the
Gylfaginning, XXXII. 12 Ancient Ones that guard the First Gate to Limbo, and
Nyarlathotep is the soul and the messenger of the ultimate chiefly among them his avatar Tawil at Umr.
gods, himself the archetype of the trickster god: he is a ATTACKS & SPECIAL EFFECTS: instant, permanent,
thief, an adulterer, a shape-shifter, and a conjuror. Several and infinite destruction.
prophecies state that someday, Nyarlathotep will destroy YOG-SOTHOTH, the All-in-One
the earth. It is written that in the last battle, the Wolf The characteristics of Yog-Sothoth are infinite.
[Yog-Sothoth] will swallow the sun, ... the Serpent Other names: Iog-Sotot, All-in-One, One-in-All, Beyond-
[Cthulhu] will walk the land. Then Nyarlathotep, in the One, the Key and the Gate, Lurker at the Threshold.
form of a black fire giant, casts fire on the earth and burns Weapon: Sphere Touch 100%, damage death.
all the worlds. Nyarlathotep claims to have a thousand Armor: none, but only magic can affect Yog-Sothoth.
different forms or Masks, of which only a few have been Spells: as many as wanted.
described. The human form of Nyarlathotep the Dark Sanity loss: 1D10/1D100 Sanity points.
Man and Father of Lies - is his best-known Mask, one that
resembles the Judeo-Christian Devil, Satan. In this form as SHUB-NIGGURATH, Outer God. I! I! Shub-
well as in others, Nyarlathotep is worshipped by numerous Niggurath! The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand
cults, spread across the world. Nyarlathotep is also known Young! - The Whisperer in the Darkness, Lovecraft.
and feared by all Mythos creatures, chiefly the Miri Nigri Shub-Niggurath is rarely met, but is often referred to in
(see Dark Ones) who refer to him as being their Father and rituals and spells. It has been guessed that she is a perverse
occasionally make strange artifacts for Him. fertility deity. In one of her few descriptions, Shub-
ATTACKS & SPECIAL EFFECTS: in human form, Niggurath is said to be a colossal cloudy mass from which
Nyarlathotep may try to corrupt or trick his foes by protrude many-jointed hooves and gelatinous coils. In
appearing as a friend, and is generally reluctant to reveal one instance, Shub-Niggurath appeared as a cloaked
his supernatural powers unless pressed. Nyarlathotep figure. She is worshipped extensively and often summoned
usually reacts to challenges by summoning monsters to to accept blood sacrifices in exchange of abundant
carry off or otherwise dispose of foes. When in human harvests, fecundity, and magical spells.
form, Nyarlathotep can be slain by normal physical means. ATTACKS & SPECIAL EFFECTS: each coil can catch
If so slain, after collapsing the body begins to quake and an investigator per combat round, and whip him or her to
swell, bursting to release some monstrous form, which the goddess body. Half an hour later, Shub-Niggurath can
rises from the split corpse and disappears into the sky. bud off one of her young (see Goblins). It is unclear
NYARLATHOTEP, The Dark Man what happens to victims who go down into the goddess
STR 12 CON 19 SIZ 11 INT 86 POW 100 DEX 19 Move body, but some have suggested that they suffer the same
12 HP 15 fate as Shub-Nigguraths favored worshippers: to be re-
Other names: Nyarlat, the Devil, Satan, the Messenger, born in her vagina as young of the Black Goat. Shub-
Loki, Hermes, Lug, Thoth, All-Seeing-Eye.
What are the rhino stats for the unicorn (p. 100)?
Move 15
HP 31
Weapons Charge 50%, damage 1D10 + db 4D6
Trample downed foe 75%, damage 3D10
Armor 10-point hide
Skills Scent danger 60%